Hi there. Hoping someone else has run across this and knows of a solution:

I would like to download Instapaper articles as an epub. So far I have not managed to do this.

I have a Kobo Mini. Using the browser, I can download epub files from Dropbox with no problems.

But trying to download an epub file directly from Instapaper is a total fail - I click the link and the browser does exactly nothing. (Specifically, I'm visiting http://www.instapaper.com/u, logging in, and then on the right hand side there's a downloads area with an "epub" link).

I know the file format is OK, because if I first move the file into Dropbox it then works fine. It's only downloading directly from Instapaper that doesn't seem to work.

Any leads? All help appreciated! My alternative is to go back to a Sony. Sigh. (Caveat: for various reasons, using Calibre is not a fix for me, so no point suggesting that).

My best guess would be that the instapaper website is not advertising the file as epub using a MIME type. It may be advertising it as a binary blob of some kind. Whereas Dropbox is probably just setting the mime type using the file extension (.epub).

As an alternative, can you save it as an html file? I saved a few files as an html-only file last night (where everything is stored in one file - I haven't tried the other format where the page also saves images in a separate folder) and am now reading them on my Glo. The files will convert easily to an epub file through Calibre, but the Glo will recognize the html file. Since they use the same firmware (minus the lighting bit) I imagine the Mini would also read them.

I did it on my computer and sideloaded the books to the Kobo (these were 3 full-length books for Harlequin's "So You Think You Can Write" contest.) When reading, the Kobo usually remembered my page. A couple of times, though, it did forget and shoot me back to the beginning of the file. Not a problem if the file is small, but if it's large it might be worth your while to convert the html file to an epub (it will convert easily.)

I have a Kobo Mini. Using the browser, I can download epub files from Dropbox with no problems.

sorry hefolsom, do you use the mobile version of dropbox? So far I only managed to download with the desktop version of dropbox, but the mobile one is more legible, yet I cannot make it work on my mini. Grateful for any tips if you have them :-)

Hi there. Hoping someone else has run across this and knows of a solution:

I would like to download Instapaper articles as an epub. So far I have not managed to do this.

I have a Kobo Mini. Using the browser, I can download epub files from Dropbox with no problems.

But trying to download an epub file directly from Instapaper is a total fail - I click the link and the browser does exactly nothing. (Specifically, I'm visiting http://www.instapaper.com/u, logging in, and then on the right hand side there's a downloads area with an "epub" link).

I know the file format is OK, because if I first move the file into Dropbox it then works fine. It's only downloading directly from Instapaper that doesn't seem to work.

Any leads? All help appreciated! My alternative is to go back to a Sony. Sigh. (Caveat: for various reasons, using Calibre is not a fix for me, so no point suggesting that).

Quote:

Originally Posted by ottdmk

My best guess would be that the instapaper website is not advertising the file as epub using a MIME type. It may be advertising it as a binary blob of some kind. Whereas Dropbox is probably just setting the mime type using the file extension (.epub).

You may be out of luck here. Sorry.

I too would like to be able to download the epub file from instapaper directly with the browswer of my Kobo. I've contacted instapaper's creator so lets hope for a positive response!